MoAF Newsletter - March 26, 2015

In this unique, gorgeously illustrated book published by the Museum of American Finance and Columbia Business School Publishing, readers learn how 50 financial corporations came to dominate the US banking system and their impact on the nation’s political, social and economic growth. A story that spans more than two centuries of war, crisis and opportunity, this account reminds readers that American banking was never a fixed enterprise but has evolved in tandem with the country.

On April 1, the Museum will open "Legal Tender," featuring the work of Philadelphia-based artist Emily Erb. The exhibit consists of flag paintings depicting US paper currency from 1862 to the present.

Erb employs the ancient Indian technique of silk painting to reflect a global perspective on the history of American money. She offers up representations of metaphorically counterfeit money as a luxurious creative medium of exchange in silk paintings installed from flagpoles. Conflating American currency with patriotic symbols of national identity, the artist initiates a dialogue on what constitutes the nation’s collective value system.

On April 15, the Museum will open “America in Circulation: A History of US Currency Featuring the Collection of Mark R. Shenkman.” Visitors will have the opportunity to view hundreds of beautiful and rare examples of American paper money and to explore them in more depth through large interactive touch screen displays.

The exhibition will feature approximately 250 notes spanning from the Colonial era to the present day. Highlights include rare examples of currency bearing the signatures of signers of the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence; a complete set of notes from the Educational Series of 1896, renowned for being the most beautiful paper money in American history; and rare examples of high denomination notes including $5,000 and $10,000 bills.

Join us for an evening with Nobel Prize-winning economist, bestselling author and Columbia University professor Joseph Stiglitz on his new book, The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them.

A call to restore true democracy and tempered markets, The Great Divide makes an urgent case for Americans to solve inequality now. A singular voice of reason in an era defined by bitter politics and economic uncertainty, Stiglitz has time and again diagnosed America's greatest economic challenges, from the Great Recession and its feeble recovery to the yawning gap between the rich and the poor.

Talk followed by Q&A, book signing and reception. Admission is free for Museum members and students, or $15 for non-members. Reservations required. Register today.

Harley J. Spiller – the Museum's own “Inspector Collector” – began collecting money at age five when, at home sick from school, his father tossed him a sack of pennies and a Whitman coin folder. In the five decades since, Spiller has amassed one of America’s most extensive collections of unusual financial artifacts, as well as a wealth of anecdotes and quirky historical details about US currency.

In Keep the Change, Spiller explains why greenbacks are green, what happens to worn-out bills, how artists navigate the fine line between art and mutilation and whether it’s ever acceptable to burn money.

Talk followed by Q&A and book signing. $5 tickets include Museum admission; Members and students free. Register today.

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